Another Hanyou
by Aeriana
Summary: When Inuyasha and the others find a young neko-hanyou beaten to the brink of her life, they take her in and help her get to feeling better...More to come in later chapters. Please read! My second fic ever!


Another Hanyou

By: Aeriana

Disclaimer: First off, the legal Mumbojumbo. I do not own any of the characters from the Television Show 'InuYasha', this fic is for purely recreational and entertainment purposes and not for the purpose of profit. Don't sue me, I'm poor >. 

Ok, now a little note from me. This is the second fanfiction I've ever written, and I'd LOVE to know how it is. Please Read and Review. If you have any comments/suggestions, please contact me or on Y!M (same address).

Ok, now to the story

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        "No, please! I never did anything to you! Leave me alone!" Screamed the shrill voice of a young neko-hanyou, doing her best to escape a mob of villagers.

        "Aaaar! Get 'er! Kill 'er! Kill the hanyou!" shouted one of the many angry villagers in hot pursuit.

        Aeria looked behind her and saw the large mob was gaining on her, she shrieked again. Why were they so hateful? Just because she was born to a neko-youkai and a human woman? It didn't make sense...even the few demons she met treated her like she was less than dirt...

        She didn't have much time to think though, her right foot caught on a stump and she crashed heavily into a large boulder. Seeing this, the mob raised their weapons and charged at her.

        Aeria had nowhere to go, her ankle was twisted and she couldn't move very well. She just balled up and pressed against the rock, trying to shield the vital parts of her body. Within moments a stone hit her square in the back of the head, she gasped but didn't move, then another and another, until the villagers were letting fall a shower of stones on her. The stones hit hard, driven by the un-just hatred and malice of the villagers, one breaking the arm protecting her head and another pelting her in the side...she heard bone crack repeatedly. Through it all, Aeria tried not to cry out, tried not to give the villagers any outward sign of pain to reward their efforts.

        "C'mon, let's finish 'er off!" shouted the head of the mob, running up and kicking Aeria in the back of the head. She tipped forward and tried to hold herself up, but her broken arm wouldn't support her weight and she fell on her face. Immediately the mob pounced on her: kicking, punching, biting, scratching, anything they could to inflict any kind of damage. Aeria couldn't help it anymore...she hissed in pain and tried as hard as she could to fight them off. Flailing wildly, Aeria did her best to ignore her broken and cracked bones, doing whatever she could to drive them back. One villager was unlucky enough to lose an eye to her claws, another fell back clutching at his throat.

        Seeing that Aeria wasn't going to go down as quickly as they thought, the villagers turned and walked off...

        "She'll be dead by morning anyways..." The leader commented, nursing a nasty gash in his upper arm.

        Aeria watched dimly as the mob retreated, muttering amongst themselves about how the carrion birds would pick her apart or one of the lesser demons would eat her remains. Suddenly the pain hit her...the pain of every little scrape on her skin, every single broken bone...her nose bled horridly and her entire body felt swollen. Even her tail had been mangled during the assault, but what hurt the most was the mental and emotional pain...of enduring the unending taunts and jeers of those prejudiced against hanyou's, of being beaten and tormented for what she was, not what she did. It all came to her in an instant and finally, after keeping them bottled up for so many years, Aeria let her meager pride fall and cried. Deep sobs tore from her throat and blood mingled with tears on her face. And before she knew it, Aeria lost consciousness, the pain and damage inflicted by the villagers fading, slowly fading with the darkness folding around her pain-filled thoughts.

        "Inuyasha, knock it off!" Kagome shouted as Inuyasha ran circles around her, Miroku, and Sango trying to catch Shippo.

        "Eeek! Kagome Help!" The young kitsune cried fearfully.

        "I'll getcha you lil runt!" Inuyasha shouted above everything, reaching wildly for the Kitsune.

        Kagome sighed exasperatedly, grabbed hold of Shippo and set him in the basket on her bike. She then turn to Inuyasha with a deep frown on her face...the Inu-hanyou knew what that look meant and tried to beg Kagome to calm down.

        "Wait, Kagome, I'm sorry do--," He was cut off mid-word.

        "Inuyasha...SIT," She shouted.

        'Wham!' Inuyasha hit the ground, face first. He lay there for a moment, twitching and jerking, and thoroughly unhappy. As soon as he could stand again, Inuyasha jumped to his feet and spat the dirt out of his mouth.

        "What did—what's that smell?!" Inuyasha's mood had changed completely. He stood for nearly minute, nostrils flared and sniffing deeply.

        "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" Kagome asked quietly, hardly above a whisper. Usually when Inuyasha's mood changed this dramatically something was up.

        "I smell blood...hanyou blood," He growled fiercely. "Try to catch up, I'm not gonna wait for you this time,"

        With that Inuyasha took off, running as fast as he could in the direction of the smell. The closer he got the stronger the smell got. Finally, as he cleared a large boulder, he found her...a young neko-hanyou; she looked just two or three years younger then Kagome. She was a terrible site; she was bruised practically from head to toe, she had cuts and a couple badly bleeding gashes, and one of her arms didn't look right.

        "Probably broken," He muttered, drawing nearer. She was unconscious, and barely breathing. "Hold on...Help is here," He whispered softly, again remembering his childhood and how he had been treated.

        "Inuyasha, what's—Oh my...What happened?!" Kagome said, alarmed, as she made her way over to Inuyasha and the other hanyou. She immediately rushed over to the unconscious girl. Checking for a life beat, she ordered Inuyasha to fetch water as fast as he could, and ordered Shippo and Miroku to find wood to build a fire as soon as they arrived. Sango stayed with her to help tend to the girls various cuts.

        "What could have done this...?" Kagome asked Sango, as she cleaned and dressed a couple of the smaller cuts.

        "Humans...Only humans could cause this sort of carnage and leave their quarry on the brink of her life," Inuyasha spat sourly, walking back into camp, carrying two full buckets of water. Miroku and Shippo arrived at about the same time. Immediately Inuyasha set to building a fire, and then put together a little rig to heat up the water.

        "Shippo, could you bring me my bag?" Kagome asked the little Kitsune, who had been awful quiet.

        "Sure thing Kagome!" He said, perking up instantly and bouncing over to the big yellow backpack. He struggled for a moment but finally got it to her.

        "Thank you. Now, I need two strong sticks or anything that would work as a splint...she has a broken arm," Kagome said, surveying the area. But before she had a chance to look for long, Inuyasha brought her two stout saplings he had cut. They were the exact right length. Kagome smiled at Inuyasha, who in turn scowled and jumped onto an overhanging tree limp to watch.

        After an hour and a half, Kagome and Sango had the young hanyou all bandaged and stilt-ed up. Now all they could do was wait and see if she had a strong enough will to live...

        A couple hours later, when everyone was asleep and exhausted from the events of the day, Aeria started to come around. She made a pitiful little groan as she opened her eyes. Inuyasha woke immediately at the sound, and watched her intently.

        "So...You've woken up," He said, staring down at her. If someone would have told him how much he looked and sounded like Sesshoumaru right now, Inuyasha would have a fit.

        Aeria jumped slightly, startled at the voice. She tried to look around but her neck hurt horribly, "Who are you...Where are you?" She asked, a hint of fear in her voice.

        Inuyasha chuckled quietly and jumped down from his branch, "First off, my name is Inuyasha. Next, I'm right here. And finally, calm down, I'm not going to hurt you...far from it. My companions here helped fix you up. You were hurt pretty bad,"

        Aeria looked at Inuyasha, studying him carefully. He had very long snow-white hair, golden eyes, and...dog ears? Was he a hanyou too?

        "I thank you for your help, and that of your friends...If you don't mind my asking—,"Aeria started to ask, but was cut off by Inuyasha's quick answer.

        "Yeah, I'm a hanyou. You are too, by the looks of ya," He said, rather blatantly.

        Aeria nodded, with an extremely shameful look on her face. She was remembering the brutal assault by the human mob earlier that night...and other times when she had been attacked physically or mentally because of what she was.

        During the lapse of silence between the two hanyou's, Kagome had woken up. She didn't say anything or move at all, she didn't even breathe differently. Kagome wanted to see how Inuyasha would act to this new girl...one that had experienced the same pain he had, if not worse, as a child.

        Inuyasha's expression changed to one of gentle reassurance, "Don't worry, they're not around here anymore. Nobody will hurt you while you're with me and my friends. How do you feel?"

        Aeria laid her head back down and stared up into the foliage of the trees, "By the way, I'm Aeria...and I'm sure you know how I feel...I feel worthless and filthy, like I don't belong and never should have been born..." She said, very bitterly.

        Kagome couldn't help but shake her head at that. Was life really that hard for this girl? Had Inuyasha felt like this through his childhood?

        Inuyasha nodded, as if expecting this answer, "Aeria...I don't mean to sound cruel or harsh or anything, but part of what you're feeling is true. Hanyou's don't belong in this world, and often times should never have even been born. But, as for worthless and filthy...You're never worthless, and only filthy when you steal or hurt others for your own personal gain. Do you do hurt others for fun or steal?"

        Aeria tried to shake her head, but her neck hurt too much, "No, Not ever...not even when I was about to starve to death,"

        "Because you knew that if you turned to thievery, what they said about you would be true...and then their assaults would be justified," Inuyasha finished, sighing. He was extremely glad he was past that part of his life, and had Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, and Sango as friends now.

        Kagome's heart ached for this Aeria, and for Inuyasha. What a cruel joke life seemed to be for them...Teased with the power of a demon, but taunted with the frailty of a torn between two worlds and never fitting in either one. It was then that Kagome decided that tomorrow, she would ask Aeria if she wanted to become a member of their little group.

        Aeria and Inuyasha talked long into the night, Inuyasha relating his own incidents. But he was feeling old pain...but it was a healing pain. Aeria was the first person he'd talked to so openly about his past suffering, not even Kagome had heard some of his stories.

        "You're lucky to have even known your mother...or your father at all," Aeria said, holding back a sob. "I never even got to know either of my parents names...My father left my mother when the morning after they slept together, and my mother gave me away as soon as I was born. She gave me to some old lady who I adopted as my mother until I was a couple months past walking...She was attacked and killed for 'housing and caring for a worthless hanyou'. I've been on my own since then..."

        Inuyasha sighed heavily, Maybe this girl's life has been tougher than his was...at least he could remember his mother, and his brother took him in (if not with any real care) when his mother had died.

        Finally, Aeria yawned, groaned a little as she rolled over onto her bruised side, and tried to get to sleep.

        'Maybe I should stay with this Inuyasha and his friends. They helped me today, probably even saved my life...The least I could do is try to help them on whatever their quest was that drew them all together. Miroku and Shippo sounded fun as well...Hopefully I've found people I can stay with, even if only for a little bit,' Aeria thought to herself, before falling asleep.

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As I said before, this is my second ever fanfiction! Please please please please please tell me what you think. Constructive criticism welcome! If you want to know how to reach me, just scroll up to the top of the story O.o.

OH, and thank you for reading!


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